2 teachers die of COVID within 24 hours in same Georgia school district, officials say

Two teachers in the same Georgia school district died of COVID-19 on Thursday, outlets report.

Dana Johnson, a first-grade teacher, and Cynthia Lindsey, an elementary paraprofessional, had both been hospitalized, battling the coronavirus, but ultimately lost the fight just hours apart, Cobb County School District officials said, WSBTV reported.

Johnson taught at Kemp Elementary School and “served our students with all her heart,” principal Billy Pritz said in an email to families, the Rome News-Tribune reported.

She had been in the hospital for nearly six weeks.

“Our hearts are broken for the Johnson family and we mourn together with them and all of our school community,” the principal said.

The district is also mourning the loss of Sedalia Park Elementary School educator Cynthia Lindsey, outlets report.

She had been in the hospital for 12 days, and on Wednesday family said she was in stable condition and were hopeful she could soon be taken off a ventilator, according to a Gofundme page.

Launched to help pay for her treatment, the page is now asking for donations to cover funeral costs.

Last week, Cobb County schools canceled classes through Friday, citing the number of students and staff infected with the coronavirus, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Community members have created a petition urging Superintendent Chris Ragsdale to halt in-person classes. As of Thursday evening, the petition had more than 6,400 signatures.

The Atlanta metropolitan area is one of the regions hardest hit by COVID-19 in the U.S.

Cobb County reported 6,852 new COVID cases in the last two weeks and has had 47,106 total since the pandemic began, state health data shows, and 638 county residents have died.